The Health Professions Education Foundation (HPEF), a division of the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, has announced a special application cycle for the Steven M. Thompson Loan Repayment Program award. Applicants for this award could receive up to $105,000 for loan repayments in exchange for a service obligation in California’s medically underserved areas or public mental health system.

HPEF will be taking applications from May 18 through June 26, with primary care physicians specializing in family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and pediatrics eligible to apply. This cycle is only open to applicants working in 17 counties: Alameda, Kings, Orange, Stanislaus, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Riverside, Tulare, Del Norte, Madera, Sacramento, Fresno, Merced, San Diego, Kern, Monterey and San Joaquin.

HPEF contracts directly with recipients and does not require employers to provide or match funds.